The Tucson artifacts: An elaborate hoax?
Also known as the Silverbell artifacts or Tucson Lead Crosses, the collective Tucson artifacts are comprised of 31 lead objects found by a certain Charles E. Manier and his family near Picture Rocks, Arizona in 1924. There have been countless debates on the authenticity of these religious objects, with the current, dominant view being that they are fake, explains New York-based ancient art and artifact gallery Sadigh Gallery. Image source: ancient-origins.net Image source: theepochtimes.com For one, it proved immensely improbable that the various lead objects (which include swords, crosses, and an assortment of religious paraphernalia) were brought to the United States by Mediterranean travelers (believed by Manier to be a Roman Judeo-Christian colony) who had crossed the Atlantic during the first century. The artifacts themselves have either Latin or Hebrew inscriptions engraved onto them, including angels, temples, and even a dinosaur on one sword blade. The objec